Final Fantasy XI: Siege of Hell
by Armored Knight
Summary: As the three beastmen tribes of Aht Urghan draw closer to the city, many heroes come to stop it. Two of these heroes' destinies quickly become intertwined, and many other crazy things begin to happen once the siege begins.
1. Chapter 1: Corsair Dreams

The city of Aht Urghan was very quiet. Every noise had ceased. All the mercenary adventurers sat there near the Victory Gate, preparing for the threat that was coming closer and closer. They were used to combatting the oncoming assaults of the beastmen, but never before had they had a triple threat coming to attack at once. This single force of the Undead, Trolls, and Mamool Ja would no doubt prove to be more than a challenge. The five generals were reduced to two, and they were gravely injured from the previous attack. Now the mercenary adventurers sat and waited. One these adventurers was an elvaan Corsair, merely playing with his ponytail. The corsair would have fallen asleep, had someone not called out his name.

"Ne, Falgy-san! Where'd Han-chan go off to?" the blonde-haired hume asked him. Falgor, the corsair, simply shrugged and tipped his hat up.

"Beats me. Hanyou always dissapears when you want to go and hug him," he muttered, beginning to clean the barrel of his gun. "Besides, shouldn't you be more worried about Heiji?"

"Heiji didn't want to come today," the hume explained. "She's not feeling all too well."

Falgor chuckled. "My dear Hj-san... if you're worried about her, then-"

"My sister's strong, so I'm not worried. Besides, she's toughed out through worse things."

Hj sat next to Falgor, also cleaning his own gun, but he was not a Corsair, rather, a Ranger. Between the two of them, there was no target Hj could not hit. He had won twenty straight marksman tournaments with little effort. After all, Hj had trained with bows and crossbows when he was young, and a gun was no different to him.

The two were not here to actually fight for the Empire. They were here to fight for pleasure, them and their troupe. After all, they created a Linkshell for people who were more than just "insane", they were "Beyond Crazy". A group of adventurers who lived for the moment and the battle is what they were. Still, they knew when to back off when they were biting off more than they could chew. But, they also believed that a little profit never hurt anyone.

After a while of talking, a Galka clad in his Gallant's armor approached them, smiling. "Hey there."

"Ah, Pain-chan. How've you been?" Hj immediately asked, letting Falgor not have to ask it himself.

"Not too bad," Pain muttered. "Could be better. My son's been acting up today."

Falgor laughed raucously. "I keep forgetting someone young as you already has a child! How is Pain B?"

"Again, he's not too bad. Learning how to use a sword. Wants to become a Paladin like me!"

The trio laughed. The three of them were the original founders of their Linkshell, which automatically made them the best of friends. Of course, they had their disagreements, but everything always turned out right in the end.

"So what do you guys think? Think we'll make it through even the night?"

Both the Ranger and Corsair nodded. "Of course. It's not like the beastmen can attack everyone at once."

"Yeah they can, Hj," Falgor argued. "They've developed tactics over the years of fighting in these battles, and have mastered attacks that can decimate any group around them. Now what is your opinion of our survival?"

The blonde-haired ranger shrugged. "I still say no matter the odds, we will win. Besides, if we lost and died, I would never be able to see my beloved Falgor again..."

Falgor laughed. "Careful now, Hj. Someone might take you seriously."

"But I _am_ serious..."

He got up, laughing again and walking away, then waved farewell to them, and told them he was merely taking a walk through the city. As he did, he listened in on the other groups that were among his own. Nervous conversations, plans of attack, very few of them deviated from that. Eventually, he came upon a part of the town nobody seemed to be, then looked up at the twilit sky, feeling an unusual amount of peace wash over him. After about ten minutes of this peace, he went back into the brooding chaos of the mercenaries. Falgor quickly returned to his friends, who had gathered their Linkshell members already, which was forty men and women strong. Hj turned, smiling.

"We were waiting. We have to psych everyone up before the battle."

Falgor grinned, then took his place next to Hj, and Pain was to the left.

"Alright! Why do we fight?!" Hj asked the members.

"We fight for the purity of battle and the safety of civillians!"

"How do we fight?!" Pain asked next.

"We fight to the last man! No giving up! No retreat!"

"Who are we?!" Falgor asked last.

Then, everyone shot their fists into the sky, and replied, "We are BeyondCrazy!"

The members cheered, gaining the assumed disrespect of their peers around them. It made Falgor happy, though, to know that he had the backup of his closest friends. After the team had settled down, everyone's heads turned when a Tarutaru woman was being held back by the Immortals. She was screaming, kicking, biting and hollering.

"Please! Let me findaru my child! She's the only thing I have leftaru!" she pleaded. The two Blue Mages simply dragged her away, grumbling.

"Sorry, but we cannot allow you outside the Al Zahbi gates in this dire time."

"PLEASE!" she begged again. "Send someone to findaru him! Please! Please..."

"We're not risking the life of a useful soldier over a useless child."

Falgor scowled, then walked over to the two Immortal sentries, then folded his arms. "Excuse me..."

"Get back to your post," one of them quickly ordered, but quickly Falgor shook his head.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said, drawing his knife on them, "until you send someone to get that child."

The Blue Mage looked at him with contempt. Obviously, the Corsairs and the Immortals were not exactly on good terms, but they had to band together in this time of need. Still, this did not stop them from acting more superior. "Do you not understand orders?"

The Corsair laughed. "That's the thing about me..." he paused, blowing his Chocobo Whistle. "I don't like orders!"

The two Immortals were about to drop the Tarutaru woman and lunge at him, if it were not for a green chocobo about to ram into them. He jumped onto its back, laughing in triumph as his friends cheered him on. As he sped out toward the twilight sky, the sun set in its final stages of its daily life, letting the moon take its own.

_Don't worry kid... You'll live long enough to see your mom again! Count on it!_


	2. Chapter 2: Red Mage Oddities

Kymiko sat there, adjusting her hat to make sure it was it was snug on her head, and her mithra ears were comfortable in it. Eventually, the Warlock's Chapeau fit just right around her head, then gave a satisfied nod to the mirror in front of her. She turned to the others in her group, which consisted of only two Elvaan and a Tarutaru.

The blonde elvaan polished his Great Katana, sighing. "Well, who else thinks this is a suicide mission, or that we should've asked for more money?"

"Don't be like that," the Tarutaru decreed. "Or you'll be more trapped than a rat."

The blonde one scoffed. "So what? Aren't we all trapped since they locked that door to Whitegate?"

However, the red-haired Elvaan had different thoughts. "Hey, as long as we do our jobs, they'll give us the money. Then we can get back to you guys watching my training."

"Who said we'd ever do that for you?"

"But..."

"No buts. And another thing, you try to lick me in my sleep again, I will split that tongue in two with my blade."

The Mithra Red Mage sat there, laughing, watching them squabble amongst themselves in a humerous fashion. Still, eventually, this bored her, and she sat there, listening to the other people talk silently. One noise startled her out of her seat, and when she went to look over, it was a rather large group shouting, their cries echoing through the city. They calmed down, their raucous cheering still ringing in her ears. After a while, she got up, and her friends looked at her.

"I'm going to go take a look through Al Zahbi. Just uh... in case there's something weird going on."

"Take care of yourself, Kymiko," the Tarutaru told her.

"You too, Emma."

With that, Kymiko walked off, her tail swaying as she moved inbetween and around the other mercenaries. Many of them looked scared out of their minds, wanting a reprieve from the upcoming hell they were about to face. She did not want to fight either. However, she told herself that if this was to end faster, then she must do all she can to help the army win against the beastmen. Kymiko soon found herself in the section of Al Zahbi where a gate with two glowing marks. Entranced, she walked up to it, but before she touched it, a voice she barely recognized shouted, making her jump and hide. She looked from behind the corner, to see General Zazarg and another Imperial officer conversing, but not pleasantly.

"General, you will do as ordered and fight this threat."

"I will fight, but I'm telling you now, even I know my limits! We're gonna be wiped out in less than two days!"

"The Empress does not care if we are going to get wiped out. You stop this threat from entering Aht Urghan to the last man. The life of these mercenaries does not compare to that of her grace."

"Why you- These people have families, friends they need to see again! And you're gonna say that's not important either?!"

"Listen, General, I know your problems with this battle, but orders are orders. Even if you were ordered to execute your own children, you'd have to follow orders!"

Kymiko felt sickened by how the imperial officer adressed the general, and figured she had heard enough. She ran out of that block, and into the main path of Al Zahbi, and as soon as she got there, was suddenly knocked over. Looking to see who it was, it was an Elvaan Corsair on a green chocobo, whom turned quickly to shout, "Sorry!" to her. The way he rode off, to Kymiko, made it seem like he was in a hurry, and would explain why he didn't stop to see if she was okay. Curious, she tried to follow the Corsair to see where he was moving off to, but someone else caught her attention. A brown haired Mithra chasing after the chocobo herself, dressed in full Adaman gear. The mithra gave up the chase, stomping her feet in the ground.

"Dammit! Falgorrrr! Get back here rrrrright now before I- ARGH!"

Curious, she tapped the mithra on the shoulder. "That man who rrrrrode off... is he your loverrrrr or something?"

"Loverrr?! I think not. I'm his mentorrr, so don't mistake that again. I suppose I must introduce myself to you now. Yisume is my name."

Politely, Kymiko bowed. "I am Kymiko... I just got knocked over by him."

"What an idiot," Yisume scoffed. "He's always acting foolishly. I just got here when he started rrriding off, and I knew something was up when it was the Imperrrials he was rrrunning from."

Yisume sat down, the armor clinking as she moved. Kymiko, too, sat, but set a little distance from her new 'companion'. She did not seem like the type of person to talk angrily and not lash out at something at the same time.

"So, you here because the Imperrrials too?"

She nodded her head. "Yeah. They just grrrabbed every adventurrrer and set them out here."

"I see."

"They also prrromised to pay us afterrr the siege is done."

"Girl, you must be more foolish than him," she growled, nodding her head in the direction the Corsair went. "More foolish than his frrriends too."

Kymiko sighed, looking away from the Mithra Palidan. This woman seemed very angry with a lot of things, and probably wouldn't think twice about taking it out on her. Before she could get the chance, Kymiko tried to get up and leave, but the adamantium gloves of Yisume nabbed her wrist first.

"Listen. Don't get yourself killed. You'll see what I'm talking about."

Feeling unnerved, she wrenched her arm out of Yisume's grip, running away from this strange paladin. Still, something about what she said was a little odd. Now she just thought it wasn't her day, 'cause now she ran into someone else. A blonde Ranger, his hair down to his neck, staring down at her.

"What's this?"

"I'm sorry sir! Forgi-" she was cut off as the Ranger lifted her chin, smiling rather sweetly.

"It is you who should forgive me, miss," he insisted, getting awfully close... and cozy.

The Red Mage was a little panicky, wondering what was in store for her, and divine assistance be thanked that something happened before the situation could worsen. A Tarutaru summoner had smacked the Ranger in the knees with a staff, the little mage growling.

"Hj! What are you doing, you lech?! You're gonna end up making her retch!"

A moment passed before the Ranger scooped up the violent Tarutaru and squeezed the life out of him. "Oh my gosh! Hanyou! I missed you SO much!"

"Let me go you fool, I'm not a Mamool! My body is frail, and if this continues the only way back is by mail!"

Saddened, the Ranger put the Tarutaru down, mock pouting. As the Tarutaru brushed himself off, he talked to Kymiko. "I apologize for my friend, you need to know. He thinks women will flock to him as Xarcabard beckons snow."

Confused only slightly, she laughed nervously, scratching her chin. "Um... it's okay. Really, I was just in a hurry. I've hea... er... been away from my friends too long today."

"Well, let us escort you then. Direct us to them, would you?"

Hanyou sighed in disgust. "Flamboyant womanizer..."

The three continued along, Kymiko spying around for her friends. Again, Hj, the Ranger, was a little too close for her own comfort, however, was kept at bay from doing much else without the scrappy little Tarutaru from breaking his legs. It felt awkward for the silence to continue, so just as awkward, Kymiko broke it.

"That man on the green chocobo-"

"That was Falgor, and his prized chocobo, Yggdrasil. He's a bit of a glory hound, but that's why we love him. His crazy methods of fighting head on and without any regard for his own safety, ironically for others', is typical. In fact, when he sped off earlier, it was probably the same thing."

"Sure, he's a brash, but he just can't ever crash. His will is insane, and makes one think if he can ever be drained."

"Yes, yes, it's true. However, I think his days as a Dark Knight definitely worked on his combat style..."

Kymiko looked over her shoulder at Hj, curious. "Dark Knight?"

"Oh, he-"

The drums began pounding, and bells ringing loudly. The entire city suddenly sprang to life, all the mercenaries jumping to their feet, readying their weapons and spells for the threat that was now just outside their gates. Hj grinned widly.

"Here they come."


	3. Chapter 3: Retake and Rethink

Speeding through Wajaom Woodlands on the back of his chocobo, Falgor had his hexagun in hand, his heart pounding wildly. One thing was on his mind, and that was to get this child back to Al Zahbi, alive, and in the hands of her mother. Still, he had to remember that sometimes war yielded undesireable results, so he prepared himself for the worst. Falgor closed in on the camp of the beastmen, slowing his chocobo down to a stop. Quickly, he dismounted it, patting its beak, then fed it some Gyashl Greens as a reward.

"K Yggdrasil, stay here, and be a good boy, ok?"

Yggdrasil whistled softly in obedience. With that, Falgor stepped carefully to avoid all noise, and peered through the bushes at the camp. To his dismay, it was the Undead Swarm camp, teeming with Lamiae just waiting for the chance to catch and charm him. However, as fate had it, they had the Tarutaru child, crying in the middle of a group of them who seemed to hold her hostage. His heart raced again, wondering how he should deal with this; after all, his usual run in and cause chaos tactic would not work very well in this situation. Falgor got a quick idea, and wove the ninjutsu "Tonko", concealing himself in the shadows. As quietly as he could, he snuck by the Lamiae, praying to Altana that they did not find out where Yggdrasil was, or else the chocobo would have given it away that he was in the vicinity, thus causing a much bigger problem. Unfortunately, that was actually the least of his worries.

As he came upon the tarutaru child, he noticed it was bound in magic. Not something that he had expertise in disarming effectively (or silently for that matter). Still, he made it his burden to save the child, and that he would hold himself to or die trying. Then, he thought of a plan. Not well devised, but it'd work. He took a grenade from his pack, swallowing hard, took a deep breath, and threw it clear across the other side of the encampment. As he waited for it to go off, he prepared his dagger, ready to cut the bindings off the child.

However, the grenade did not go off. He was confused, and the moment he stepped forward, the plan jumped into place, not to his liking. The explosion was a lot more massive than he had expected, and it sent the Lamiae into a panic. Even still, this was just what he needed to get the child back. Falgor rushed straight in, casting Tonko really quickly, and he was getting very close to the Tarutaru child. Eventually, he made it, as the Lamiae were slithering to where the explosion ocurred. Kneeling down, he scooped the child into his arms, and ran as quick as he could, before any of the beastmen saw a floating child. Luck was with the Corsair, as always, because he was plenty distance from them.

Falgor dropped the invisibility, and tried to calm the sobbing child, whom eventually did. A hiccup was heard here and there, but she was still frightened half to death. He sighed, and looked around for his trusty chocobo. As he took a few steps, the child stirred, screaming again, but this time, pointing at something. The Corsair took a step to turn, but he felt a powerful blow connect with his left cheek. The blow had sent him to the ground, but he protected the child from any unneeded injury. When he got to his feet, he saw that it was a Mamool Ja, cracking it's large hands.

"Where do you think you're going, smoothskin?"

He scoffed, dropping one of the hands to his side, readying his fingers. "I'm taking this child back to where she belongs, with her mother."

"I don't think so. You and the little brat are staying here."

"Says who?"

The Mamool Ja took another swing, but unfortunately for it, it's skull was blown wide open from the chin, and as it fell, Falgor was holding his hexagun, the topmost barrel smoking.

"Says the guy who just shot you..." he muttered. The Tarutaru child was about to cry again, but he rocked her back to sleep, whispering, "It's okay. You'll get to see your ma' soon. She'll get you to forget this craziness..."

Removing his Chocobo whistle from his pack, he blew it again, Yggdrasil appearing from the brush, lowering it's frame to allow its master on his back. There was no need for a command: Yggdrasil understood the silence and made a mad dash back toward Al Zhabi. They entered into the area, and things were already looking badly. He had no idea the Troll Mercenaries were already on the attack, and he was not in a position to fight at the moment. Falgor guided Yggdrasil, ducking, weaving, and avoiding every strike the Trolls were mustering. Lady Luck ad brought the Elvaan to his destination: To the gate leading to Whitegate. One of the Imperial Soldiers stopped him there.

"You! You're under arr-"

"Not right now! Here!" he shouted, handing the child over. "Get her to her mother, and on the double!"

The soldier looked at him indignantly, but nodded his head. "I know what it's like to be this child. You've done well, so I will 'forget' your insubordination."

Falgor nodded back, and jumped off the chocobo. "Get him inside too."

With that, he removed his gun once more, trying to find his friends. Eventually, he saw the blonde haired man, firing furiously at the Troll's thick armor.

"Why don't you go down already?!"

"Because he's in love with your charm, my friend!"

Hj turned his head, and grinned. "Took you long enough. Get what you needed?"

"More or less!" Falgor replied as he spun the hexagun and fired repeatedly, then held his arm out, with the gun, grinning.

"Hey Hj, can I tell you something my pappy used to say to me?"

"What's that?" he asked, already knowing.

"Love is immortal..."

Falgor and Hj let loose a storm of bullets, the Troll roaring in pain, then the two readied their guns once more, their guns shining.

"Too bad you're not!" they shouted in unison as they unleashed a weapon skill, Detonator, upon their foe. The troll wasn't dead as of yet, but another strike from behind finished it off. As the troll fell over, Pain stood behind it, his blade brandished.

"Do I have to protect you two all the time?" he asked gruffly.

Hj smiled in a wily manner. "You'll always have to protect me from Falgy... you never know what he'll do to you with that pirate charm!"

"No time for jokes, my dear Hj. We've got more trouble on the way," he muttered, pointing at a hoarde of slimes storming Balrahn's Way. "Alright, get ready! Dice roll, comin' up!"

Falgor pulled out a pair of dice from his pocket, one green with a picture of a bow on the single dot, and a white one, with a circlet on the single dot. He threw them into the air, and when they dropped, they disappeared, and enormous cards appeared, roman numerals appearing. Both of the cards came out VI, but he wasn't done yet. The corsair removed from his pockets the same two die that disappeared, and threw them up into the air again, and when they vanished once more, the giant cards took shape and this time, one showed V and the other showed IV.

"Luck of the draw, eh?" the Elvaan asked his companions.

"Luck nothing," Pain scoffed. "You've got Altana working the dice for you."

"Well, I did manage to cheat death... once more," he muttered with a glum face.


	4. Chapter 4:Destined Meeting?

The moment the battle had begun, confusion quickly swept across the entire area. The Ranger Kymiko had been talking with quickly disappeared into the fighting, firing off random shots from his gun. Kymiko was now thrust into the fray, drawing her blade and joining the chaos of blades flying through the air wildly at the invading forces. In this situation, it was the Troll Mercenaries: Big, powerful brutes who also desired the treasure within the city.

Unfortunately for the Mithra, they would stop at nothing to claim the Astral Candescence. However, despite all the combat, she looked around for her companions she had arrived with. Two of them, the elvaan samurai and the elvaan dragoon. The pair, despite their own conflict earlier, were fighting valiently together.

"Do these beasts know not the meaning of defeat?!"

"Hey, more fighting for us! Think of it that way!"

"Hm... true."

Those two were the least of her concerns. She was really looking for her Tarutaru friend whom she lost contact with earlier. By the time she found her, the situation was looking bleak. During the course of the siege, the Mamool Ja Savages had joined in an effort to wither the Imperial forces much faster. Being surrounded was a small group of mercenary adventurers, with the Tarutaru in the middle, whom was casting ancient magicks. As the group was getting smaller and smaller as they were being cut down, Kymiko tried to fight her way through to them; It seemed as though it were in vain. Leading this attack was Gulool Ja Ja, and he had already set his sights on Emma. He raised his massive blade, and brought it down, Kymiko stopping, thinking she would be too late.

But, fate, it seems, had better plans for the Black Mage instead of death by a beastman. A certain Adaman-wearing Mithra Paladin was holding her shield to the blade, gritting her teeth.

"Rrrragh!" she roared, throwing Gulool Ja Ja back, his followers and some trolls falling back as well to hold the line steady. "Come on you filthy cowarrrds! Let me show you the feeling of death when you darrre to harrrm the innocent!"

Yisume swung her blade wildly, the other mercenaries rallied to this and joined in the attack. Kymiko snuck by them, casting the fabled Red Mage spell, "Refresh" on her friend.

"Are you alright?" Kymiko wondered.

"Much better, thanks to her," Emma said, pointing at the wild Mithra. "Or else I'd be felled by that cur."

The Red Mage smiled, healing and reviving everyone nearby. As she was on this task, she noticed a certain face in the crowd, among the others she recognized: The Corsair who nearly ran her over with his chocobo. He seemed to be enjoying himself, firing his gun and swinging his knives, rolling dice occasionally.

"Kymiko, isn't that the elvaan who nearly killed you?" Emma asked.

She nodded. "I wouldn't say 'kill'. But yes, that's him."

"Who knew? Well, luckily, he's nowhere near his chocobo."

"Never mind him for now, we need to raise the others so we can have a fighting chance."

"Understood."

Quickly, the two began bringing the other mercenaries from their incapacitated states, slowly replenishing Al Zahbi's defenders. Eventually, they were all risen from death, but still succumbed to the effects of death's sleep. All of them thanked the two for their efforts, and allowed them rest for their weary souls. As they did, they tried to calm themselves down before joining the fight again. Once more, they conversed.

"So who was that insane mithra?" Emma asked. "New friend of yours?"

Kymiko wrinkled her nose and twitched her ears for a moment, before shaking her head. "Kind of. It's hard to explain who she is... well, to start off, she's the mentor to that crazy elvaan who nearly ran me down."

"Mentor? She's definitely out of her mind."

"Who's out of her mind?"

The two looked up at someone... really tall. He shouldered a hexagun, tipping his tricorne so he could see the two through his eyebrows. "Oh... oh shoot, I really hope you're not mad about what happened earlier." The elvaan nervously brought his ponytail from the back of his head and started playing with it, waiting judgment.

However, the mithra seemed more than forgiving. She smiled, and laughed. "It's alright. Next time, just steer your chocobo better. What's your name?"

"Erm..." he paused, then turned, arm extended and trigger finger ready. Aparrently, there was a Puk behind him, but not any longer: It had a small hole in its head now, and dropped to the ground, twitching. "Sorry 'bout that. Anyways, m'name is Falgor Kaisu."

"Charmed," she said, with a hint of sarcasm. "I'm Kymiko Umari... say, I could have sworn I heard your name before..."

Not much time to ponder this. Another wave of the beasts came, but Falgor seemed to scoff, pointing his exagun.

"Eleven... I think I'll only need... four shots for this," he boasted under his breath. With that, he pulled the trigger four times, which was truly all he needed. The bullets seemed fired at random, but they were fired in such a way that they ricocheted off the surroundings, and even each other. Surely enough, the eleven trolls were dead in an instant, each of them having a small hole in their equally small heads. Falgor scoffed, putting the gun away in its holster. "I was lucky enough to hit those tiny things..."

Now she was impressed by this Corsair's marksmanship, even though he was showing off with that last stunt. Soon after, three people ran over to him, a galka whom she didn't recognize, and the tarutaru and hume from earlier, Hanyou and Hj.

"Ah, my love, you're still alive are you?" the hume asked him, confusing Kymiko.

Falgor seemed to add fuel to the fire. "But of course my dear Hj, why wouldn't I be?"

A loud THWACK was heard, and Falgor was holding his knee, growling in pain, staring down at the tarutaru summoner.

"Hanyou, why the hell did you do that?!"

"You two are sickening, that's why."

"Well, at any rate," the galka paladin began, "we better get going. General Zazarg is gettin' swarmed by Mamool Ja, and nobody's givin' him any help."

Kymiko turned pale when she heard Zazarg's name. She remembered eavesdropping on him an an Imperial officer, how the officer said that his life, and the lives of the mercenaries didn't matter in comparison to the Empress. This made her a little fearful, but she had to remain resolute if she were to do her job properly. Falgor turned to the main area of Al Zhabi, and grinned.

"It's showtime. Let's go!"


End file.
